Category Archives: Raising children
post holiday update
I’m not at all sure where to start but wanted to say that I’m still here and things are happening. Trip to England We went to England for the Christmas holiday period. Freya went in mid-December and travelled up to … Continue reading
being self-employed
I have often thought that there are a lot of synergies between being self-employed and homeschooling. One of them came up very early in this homeschooling journey when someone casually remarked that being bored at school might have to be … Continue reading
Nutcracker
I had a conversation with someone recently who was saying how she couldn’t wait until her granddaughters were old enough that she could take them. I wish the woman sitting in front of me, or even the one next to … Continue reading
Depriving our children of common experience
Wisteria commented on yesterday’s post: Yet, when the children are around other children, I sometimes have a tug of guilt about the things they don’t get. I still have that nagging sense of measuring up. Though I know we don’t … Continue reading
swearing follow up
Great comments on the Swearing post. Who knew? Sheila’s comment, in particular, reminded me of a conversation I had many years ago with someone. We were talking about how some people use “fuck” as punctuation. Of course my addled brain … Continue reading
Swearing
I read a good article today, in The Atlantic via a link to Arts and Letters Daily from the Chronicle. In Freedom’s Curse Steven Pinker takes on the question of swearing and freedom of speech. He starts with a basic … Continue reading
Play, concentration & school performance
A very good article on NPR talks about the importance of play. Nothing particularly new (to us anyway) but some interesting psychological evidence about the relationship between imaginative play and “executive function”. Also, the introduction has some interesting facts about … Continue reading
Lions, and cheetahs… nostalgia
While looking for something else, I discovered the BBC Big Cat pages. The internet sure has changed things though the live webcams and the video streaming of the TV program is not available outside the UK. What a shame. When … Continue reading
not that planners aren’t useful…
I have used my bog-standard day planner to help manage the stress of this heavy workload season. Basically, I realized that after about 3 p.m. I can’t do any useful work actually reviewing grant applications (which is what I do). … Continue reading
Tigger is 11!
Tigger had her birthday yesterday. It was a pretty good day. We began by opening some gifts after breakfast and then it was business as usual. She took chocolate chip cookies to camp to share with everyone. Last night we … Continue reading




